Oxford City Council has paid out £10m in Government grants to 560 businesses in Oxford to support them through the coronavirus pandemic.
The City Council was one of the first local authorities in the country to start issuing the funding.
Systems were put in place to manage the grants at the end of March (27/3), and the City Council received £25.2m of Government funding to pay the grants at the start of the month (1/4).
As of 4pm yesterday (20/4), £10,130,000 of funding has been provided to the city’s businesses:
- 207 small business grants totalling £2,070,000
- 51 lower retail, leisure and hospitality grants totalling £510,000
- 302 higher retail, leisure and hospitality grants totalling £7,550,000
It is estimated that all the funding will be allocated by the end of April.
So far, 1,088 of approximately 1,831 eligible businesses in Oxford (59.4%) have applied for the scheme.
However, the City Council does not have contact details for all the eligible businesses, so business owners need to use the online form to apply for the financial support.
For more information about the support available for businesses in Oxford and to apply for the grants, visit our Support for Business page.
In addition to the grant funding, the City Council has also applied millions of pounds of business rates relief to firms across the city, with £57.3m of relief applied to 1,527 businesses in total.
“Businesses are the lifeblood of Oxford and its economy, and we are doing everything we can to ensure they survive through the coronavirus outbreak.
“We built our grant application systems early and have been issuing funding to Oxford’s businesses for almost three weeks. Yesterday (20/4) alone we issued £2.07m to 123 businesses in the city, and I am delighted that we have now reached this milestone.
“We have already written to all small businesses in Oxford to encourage them to apply but we do not have contact details for all eligible businesses, so it is vital that they contact us.
“If you operate a business in Oxford and would like to apply for grant funding, please our Support for Business page.”
Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council
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